Police are investigating an armed robbery at the Waffle House restaurant located on Atlanta Road in Smyrna. Monday’s robbery was the third to take place at a Waffle House in Cobb County in recent days, but authorities are saying it’s too soon to make any connections among the cases.Staff/Emily Barnes

After the third armed robbery of a Waffle House in Cobb County in recent days, local police are saying it’s too soon to make any connections among the cases.

The latest stickup came around 11 p.m. Monday at the Waffle House at 4458 Atlanta Road in Smyrna.

Cobb County police are not saying if this robbery has any connections to similar incidents at Waffle Houses in Austell and Marietta.

Officer Mike Bowman would not speculate on any links between the Waffle House hits, which occurred within 10 days of each other.

“I wish it was that easy, but there is no indication if they’re related or not,” he said.

Bowman said investigators are looking at all factors, not just location and brand name.

“They’re looking at all avenues. They’re not speculating about them,” he said. “They’re not closed-minded.

“These businesses are open 24 hours a day. That means people are in it all day long. There’s no telling what’s happening or why.”

There are no sketches or images of the suspects to circulate to the public.

“As more becomes available, we’ll put it out there,” Bowman said. “What we would like is anyone with information who was a witness to contact police.”

He would not say whether fingerprints had been recovered from the scene or what other leads police are following.

“I am not at liberty to discuss what evidence we have. It is an ongoing active investigation. All of them are,” Bowman said.

In the most recent robbery in Smyrna on Monday, the suspects are described as black men, both 6 feet tall with thin builds and in their late 20s to early 30s.

Inside the restaurant at the time of the robbery were four employees and three customers, Bowman said.

The suspects were armed with silver handguns, according to the police.

One suspect, described as having a “dark” complexion, was wearing a black hoodie, white T-shirt, black pants with silver belt buckle and black shoes. He allegedly covered his face with a black-and-white checkered bandana.

The other suspect has a “medium” complexion, and wore an oversized black jacket with hood, a baseball cap with a red bill, black pants and black shoes with white soles.

They fled on foot in opposite directions after taking an unknown amount from the cash register.

Other robberies

Another Waffle House, at 7350 Six Flags Drive in Austell, was robbed Feb. 13 around 11:45 p.m.

Police said two black men, one carrying a rifle, came in through a back door.

Both were described as 5 feet, 11 inches tall, thin, and dressed in black hoodies and black pants.

One has a light complexion, the other dark, police said.

The dark-complected suspect is between 20 and 25 years old and clean-shaven.

Austell robberies

A robbery was reported Feb. 8 at about 2:30 p.m., in which two suspects, one armed with a black semiautomatic handgun, robbed the Waffle House at 3635 Austell Road south of Marietta.

They took an undisclosed amount of cash, a small safe underneath the register and fled the scene in opposite directions.

Police said both suspects are black men, 5 feet, 9 inches tall, between 20 and 25 years old, and covered their faces with blue bandannas.

One of the suspects has a slender build, and wore a black hooded sweatshirt.

The other’s build was not given but he also wore dark clothing.

At the same Waffle House on Jan. 26 at about 10:15 p.m., two black men allegedly committed aggravated assault and robbery.

One is described as 5 feet, 10 or 11 inches tall, wearing a black hoodie and a blue-and-white bandanna over his face.

The other wore a black T-shirt, faded blue jeans, and a ski mask. He wielded a semi-automatic handgun.

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call 770-499-3945.

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